Smoke-cleaning device.



J. L. MATTHEWS.- SMOKE CLEANING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 19, 1907..

899,882. A Patent-.ed sepa 29, 1908.

JoHN L. MATTHEWS, or BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

SMOKE-CLEANING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. .29, 1908.-

Application mea August 1s, '1907. 'seal No. essere.

4 scription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertalns to make andfuse the same. i

My invention relates 'to any improvedsmoke cleaning device, and has for its object to more particularly adapt such a -device for the use oflive steam or air for creating a draft when it is'impossible or inconvenient to utilize exhaust steam for such purpose.

It also has for 'its object to provide means for causinga condensation of the steam and water combined therewith, and also to provide means for more convenlently removing the de osits that accumulate in the apparatus.

Wit these and other lobjects in vlew, the

\ invention consists in the improvedf'construction'and novel arrangement-of parts of a smokecleaning device as 'will bemore fully set: forth hereinafter. In` vthe accompanyingl drawings, which illustrate the invention, Figure 1 :is 'a vertical sectional view ofxan. apparatusembodying my invention; and Fig. 2 1s a similar view of a modified form of the same with parts in elevation and parts .broken away.' Y

, Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 indicates a chamber orv compartment, which may be of any -suitable size and dimension, and is adapted to be connected with ay fire box,.2, by means of a pipe or conduit, 3. The fire box maycomprlse -any object in which combustion is carried on, as a smelter, or the furnace of a shop or mill, and especially where there is considerable smoke or -unconsumedy carbon., The cleansing chamber 1 is preferably cylindrical and supported in any suitable manner as by posts, 4, at any suitable heightto adapt it for being connected with the fire-box and also to permit of its being yreadily cleansed or opened. While said smoke holder or oompartmentcan be built out of any suitable material in any suitable manner, it is preferably formed of concrete mixed with crusheds'tone, with an iron netting placed on the inside and inclined or tapered' upward at the tep, from which extends a smoke stack, or conduit, 5.

VTheibottom ofthe chamber is made watertight for a sufficient depth, andais provided at any suitable point, preferably centrally, with an opening, 6, from which a tra 7, extends downward. The trap is closed) at the top by means of a door, or cover, 8,' and has a door, 9, at its lower end, preferably` hinged thereto so as to swing downward when opened.

Projecting'from oneside of the chamber at the level of the water, is an outlet or discharge pipe, 10, which is preferably provided with a valve, 1-1. the compartment, directly above the top of the water, is a series ofy openings, which are adapted to be closed to a greater or less extent by suitable doors, 12 which slide in oppositely disposed cleats 13 and are controlled by hand as 1s desired.

Projectmg mto ther-,interior ofthe'com` partment from one side is a pipe, 14, which .is adapted to convey water from any sui table source (not shown) and terminates at its inl ner end, which projects upward, with a spray head, 15, preferably located directly underneath the entrance to the iiue or smoke stack,

Arranged in the' sides of 5. A pipe, 16, extends into the compart` lment through the wall and communicates with its inner end with the upturned portion, 17, `of' the pi e, 14, at a suitabledistance b elow the head, 15. The pipe, 16, is adapted `to `convey steam from any suitable source (not show-n), but more particularly live steam, dirctly from its source so as to 'deliver the same into the water fromthe pipe,

` 14, andto discharge the water into the compartment in the form of a ne, evenspray, and -wi'th considerable force.

pipe, 16, :and the entrance'to. bp'thof said va ves, not shown, in convenient position for A valve 18v may be'provided for the inner end of thel being controlled by the engineer or person in charge of the works.

- A perforated damper, 19, is located inthe lower end of the smoke stack, 5, and at a suitable'distanse fromv the spray'head, 15, which is adapted'to engage with the current 4of steam and water. as they are leaving the chamber 1, therebycondensing the same andi.`

causing the condensation to be precipitated into the tank at the bottom of the compartment.

When' constructed in this manner, it is evident that my improved cleaning device can phere, as with a low barometer, a forced draft can b c secured by admitting steam through the pipe, 16. lf the steam should lack sutlicient moisture, as when live steam is being used, the moisture can be secured by the entrance of water through the pipe, 14, and spray head, 15. In case the desired draft cannot be secured from the foregoing means, a current of air from any suitable source, as a blower, 20, may be introduced through the pipe, 21. If it be desired to increase the draft to a still greater degree, or at a different point, live steam may be introduced into the conduit, 3, at any suitable point by means of a pipe, 22, which is preferably provided with a nozzle, 23, bent so as to project the jet of steam upward through the conduit. A jet of Water may be also introduced into the conduit, 3, as by means of a pipe, 24. lVith an apparatus as above described, when the smoke from' the 'lire box is delivered into the compartment, its torce is destroyed to, a certain extent, owin(T to the larger size of the compartment, and the heavier particles will fall or be deposited in the tank at the bottom of the compartment', the water quenching any of them that may be on tire, thereby preventing the possibility of fire being communicated by the escaping sparks or products of combustion. rlhis settling of the heavier particles or cleansing of the smoke is facilitated by the jet of steam and water that is located in the conduit, 3. As the smoke is drawn or forced out of the compartment by the force of the draft created by the jet of steam from the pipe, 16, the liner particles are moistened thereby to such an extent that they are washed down int-o the tank at the bottom of the compartment by the condensation that occurs upon the perforated damper.

The draft through the compartment can be also further controlled by means of the open-- ings, 12, near the bottom, and the smoke stack 5 can be extended directly upward and disclrarged into the atmosphere or I can be extended laterally as( shown at 25 in the drawings by means of which it may be adjoined, attached to or connected with a smoke stack or chimney in the well known manner. When it is desired to clean out the compartment or to remove the contents ol the tank, entrance is had through suitable doors, 26. By removing the cover S and opening the door 9, the contents of the tank can be discharged through the trap 7 into any suitable receptacle, as a wagon, or it may be run oli into any convenient place by means of a conduit, not shown.

In Fig. 2 I have shown my improvements when used with or applied to a smoke stack, as shown in my said patent, No. S24-,900. In this instance, the conduit, 27, is extended downward and connected with the compartment, which is provided with a spray head, or live steam and air `iet, in the same manner as shown in Fig. 1, or the compartment may be dispensed with and the conduit extended from its lower end as shown in dotted lines, 2S, so as to communicate with any suitable point of discharge, as a running stream, etc., not shown. ln either structin'c, the conduit, 3, or 27, as the case may be, is preferably provided with a suitable door, as`29, by means of which. access may be had to the interior of the conduit for the purpose of cleansing it from any soot, or o ther foreign substances that might accumulate therein.

If desired, the compartment 1 may be large enough to be used in connection with a plurality 'of furnace or lire boxes, and it may also be previded'with a plurality of llucs, as shown in dotted lines at 3() in Fig. 2.

As above described, it will be evident that by providing a furnace or smclter with my improved smoke cleaner, the draft can be controlled independently of the condition of the atmosphere, and the furnace, etc., can be made substantially smokeless, that is, the unconsumcd carbon that is generally carried out at the to i of the smoke stack, will be deposited in the tank at the bottom of the compartment.

Having thus fully described my invention, what l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

1. In a smoke cleaning device, a chamber having a body of water in its lower portion and provided with air holes located in the wall of said chamber above the body of water, means for adjustably controlling said air holes, said chamber having a smoke intake opening in the walls thereof above the air holes, water atomizing means located above the smoke intake, and a smoke outlet pipe above said atomizer, suhst-:mtially as described.

2. A smoke cleaning device comprising a chamber provided with intake and outlet smoke llues, a water supply pipe communicatincrease the draft for discharging the precipitated matter from 10 the chamber. l

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand 1n presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JOHN L. MATTHEWS. Witnesses:

JASPER M. BERRY, Jr., MICHAEL A. MCCORMICK. 

